U.S. Geological Survey: 133 Urban Areas Initiative
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) provided funding to USGS to acquire digital orthophoto coverage of 133 of the US’s most urbanized areas. DHS’s investment, totaling over $4 billion, funds the acquisition of aerial imagery for development of geospatial datasets to support disaster preparedness and homeland security. Completed digital orthophotography from the 133 Urban Area Program is to be published on the USGS seamless data server and on the Hazards Data Distribution System (HDDS). This high-resolution digital imagery is critical in the development of inventories of critical assets and key resources surrounding major U.S. urban centers.
AeroMetric has been a partner in the USGS 133 Urban Area Program since 2006. Over that time, the corporation has generated color half-foot ground sample distance (GSD) orthoimagery covering more than 10,000 square miles. The images generated by AeroMetric were evaluated for positional accuracy by another USGS mapping contractor, and were found to be in compliance with project accuracy standards. Digital orthoimagery was generated and delivered for the following areas:
- McAllen, TX
- Corpus Christie, TX
- Minneapolis, MN
- Honolulu, HI
- Central Connecticut
- Helena, MT
- Robertson, TN
- Coastal Louisiana
- Riverside, CA
- Oklahoma City, OK
- Chicago Metro, IL, IN, WI
